Friday 8 March 2019


Top Ways to do SEO Yourself
As the world keeps becoming digitally advanced day by day, there is a constant need to understand the importance of making your business more visible to the relevant audience. ‘Making it visible’ clearly remind us of the term ‘SEO’ or Search Engine Optimization. Although it is not in any way near to advertising, it may still cost you some time and money. If you are financially strong, hiring an SEO agency or consultant is preferably a good option to save you some time, so you can invest it in some other business-related chores. But in case if you are short on money, you can do it yourself by keeping a few helpful tips about SEO in mind.
The consumers of today live in a digital world and fully realize the significance of Internet and its importance in their shopping experience. It does not matter if they prefer online shopping or buying items in person, knowing about the product or service through the Internet is crucial. Businesses that do not invest in SEO miss out the opportunities they could have attained through this. At first look, it may seem a pretty easy concept to understand but there are a lot of factors which influence the results. Usually, businesses hesitate before stepping into this as it may take time to see real results. But if it turns out to be positive experience, then it would be a great addition for your business.

Understanding SEO





The process involves natural or organic results affecting the online visibility of a website or a web page in a web search engine is known as Search Engine Optimization. A higher ranked website in search result lists get the most clicks. These clicks by visitors become leads and can be converted to potential customers. This process needs continuous maintenance, testing and monitoring. Its primary function is to exhibit the value of your business to the search engines. When your value is demonstrated properly to these search engines, your site will be ranked higher for queries searched by customer relevant to your content.
You need patience and a lot of time to succeed in SEO - it is not an overnight phenomenon. This is because of constant changes in Google’s algorithms. Just work on it and you will see results gradually. A few important components of an effective SEO plan are a strategy to achieve the realistic goals, budget and tactics, demonstrated keyword research that examines capacity, social media, competition and relevance; website optimization that abides by SEO best practices, marketing of content, directory listings, etc.

Understand the main principles of SEO

Search engine optimization describes a strategy that incorporates nearly every feature of site building and content development. Doing it effectually, does not only create an exceptional user experience, but also build their trust in your business. Link building, anchor text, keyword density, Alt text, SEO-friendly URLs, on-page SEO, title tags, meta-description are the main principles you need to focus on.

How search engine optimization works

In SEO, you use certain specific keywords which you have searched through any keyword tool and use them in the content written for your targeted audience. When audience search for such keywords Google tend to show result on the basis of ranking each and every website got. Content with good quality and relevancy gets the Google’s attention and they rank your page. The more relevant keywords you use the more helpful it will be in ranking you high on Google search engine.

Tips for implanting SEO

1.    Master Keyword Research
Keyword research is the thing that you will need to focus on as without mastering this art you cannot survive in the digital world. It seems pretty easy to assume that you know all about your customers, but that’s not true. Your knowledge is limited to what you have experienced or what you have seen happening around you.
However, you can start searching for most common keywords used for that particular product or services and which are more beneficial for your business. Keywords research helps you to better understand the common words or phrases that customers use to find that particular product or service. Google Keyword Planner which was formerly known as Google Keyword Tool is the best option to start with if you are going to do it yourself. To get the most useful data and results from it, you will need an active Google AdWords account. In order to open this account simply follow these steps:
1.       Access Google AdWords, enter your email address and your website. 
2.       Login to your Google AdWords account.
3.       Next, at the top corner, you will see the toolbar. Simply click on Wrench Icon it will lead you to different options to select from. You will find ‘Keyword Planner’ option there.
4.       By Clicking ‘Keyword Planner’ you will see two tools. One is ‘Find new Keyword’ and the other one is ‘Get metrics and forecasts for your keyword’. These two tools are enough for SEO keyword Research to generate many effective keywords for your business.
There are so many other options to select from if you are not interested in Google AdWords, Übersuggest is one of them. Übersuggest is free and uses Google autocomplete to produce effective keywords.
2.    Analyze your competitor's strategies:
If you wish to be in top searches for the products or services you are offering then you must understand your competitors. Do detailed research about what they are doing, and what strategies they follow. Observe their content structure and website features and note down what you need to work on for your own site. Also, social media accounts and other forums give a proper view of what they are doing best. Once you observe all these things, just list them down and start working on that. It will give you the idea what type of keywords you need to use to make it more effective for your website.
3.    Website planning
After analyzing your competitor’s strategies, you can now start planning your website features and content. Or if you have to make alterations, then try to do it in a more effective manner than your competitors. Use such keywords which are most commonly used by customers to find the product. Make a list of things you need to add and include your higher and medium priority keywords with their corresponding web pages. Your research keywords must be included strategically in your content. You should also include long-tail keywords as most of the customers search with the help of these generic and specific keywords.
4.    Site optimizing
To improve the user experience you should optimize your website. Make it mobile friendly to be precise as day by day, increase in usage of mobile devices leads to more searches through mobile sites. Your site’s mobile version and desktop version should consist of same structure to make it easy for users to understand your site. More effective user experience more chances to succeed in your SEO plan.

5.    Produce Regular Content

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Starting SEO and improving it through time is very crucial. This is because if your content gets outdated then it may affect your overall SEO strategy. Try to produce resourceful content which really has some value in it. Your content should not contain irrelevant material just to increase the word count as the quality of that content will be more important to get noticed by Google. Good quality and lengthy content which gives users all the information they want can get the most views. More views means higher chance of generating leads and sales. Keep your users up to date, so they will know what you are up to. It is the best trick to engage them.
6.    Build Your Social Media Network
Start creating Content with your specified Keywords and spread that content on all social media platform. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram etc. play a really important part in getting more leads. If your content is good enough to engage the audience you may get more shares. And more shares means more traffic to your site. With increase in this organic traffic you can get higher rankings for your website.
7.    Understand Google Analytics
To improve and optimize you need to understand the importance of Google Analytics. When you will be able to know where you lie in your performance, you can easily make improvements. Use Google Analytics to measure your performance by only clicking ‘Organic search’ you will be able to see performance of your SEO Strategy.
8.    Read an SEO Blog
If you are a newbie and find it pretty difficult to start SEO for your website, then you can initiate this by reading SEO blog so that you get the idea. Reading the blogs or content related to your business will help you a lot. You can list down things to start with, what would be strategy. How many times and where you should put your specified keywords.
9.    Ask Questions
If you are new to this you will be hesitant to begin, which is pretty obvious. You can go to different forums and ask questions from experts. It will not only boost your morale but will also provide you with the answers to your questions.

Importance of SEO

1-    Brand building

The main purpose of SEO is generating traffic which later on converts into sales and leads, but other than that it has another benefit of improving brand image. If you own a brand, an online presence is going to build your brand to the level where people recognize you through your logo, name and products and increase your share in market. Online presence does not mean that you are only available through your website, but it also includes other social media channels. Using all the social media channels will increase the chances of people searching for you product or services which increase more traffic. Brand building is not an easy task but if you understand the importance of SEO it will definitely improve your overall brand image by increasing brand reach. More search engine traffic leads to more sales and higher page ranking which relatively helps in brand building.

2-    Better positions on the SERP

Your position on SERP plays very important role in the number of clicks you receive on your site. The top three positions on the SERP receive an average of 60% of all the clicks according to Advanced Web Ranking.

3-    More Traffic

Consumers searching for particular product or service usually gets the result which is generally available in market with higher ranking in SERP (Search Engine Result Page). To increase your position on SERP you will need more clicks on

Benefits

1-    Improved visibility
Visibility of the site increases as rankings improve. When you observe all the errors and fix them, also start with your specified keyword to include in your content. You will start increasing your position. It might not take you to the top, but you will see the difference.
2-    Better engagement with site users
As you get the idea of importance of SEO, you will improve your content and make it worth clicking for. Your users will start to increase as they will get what they are looking for in your site. As visibility of the site will improve the reputation of site will also increase. More people will visit your site means more leads and more leads convert to sales.
3-    Improved user experience
Optimizing your site and reducing load from your website will improve user experience. This can help in better ranking on search engine.

Tips to rank higher on Google searches

1-    Publish Relevant Content

If you wish your website to rank higher, then you should avoid all the irrelevant content on your site. People tend to like the content which is more accurate and answers all their questions. Relevant content is more important in the eyes of Google, than long form content filled with irrelevant words. Google pays special attention to those site which serves its user with most useful and trustworthy content. Good quality content can grasp the attention of users and these users are your stairways to higher rank in Google search.

2-    Metadata

Title metadata is the most essential metadata on your page. The page titles you see on top of the browser window and the headlines in search engine results are displayed by that title metadata.
Description metadata is the short description of your page which is meant for the users. So that they would know what they are going to see in your page. It has to be appealing description which encourage users to click on the page.

3-    Decrease your homepage’s load time

For the past few years, Google is focusing on providing exceptional user experience. And it is only possible if you will not let them wait while using your site. Reducing your homepage’s load will save them time and let them find what they were searching for on your website. This will have positive impact on your website as the number of people visiting your site will increase. User satisfaction is Google’s top priority.

4-    Create interesting content

Creating creative and interesting content will engage the users and keep their attention on your content. Providing all the necessary information is mandatory but if you be creative with it, this will be a huge plus point for you. It will help you to retain your users and make them share your website with their own circles.

5-    Have a link-worthy site

‘Click here’ links are outdated and are not very much in use. Writing name of the destination instead can help user understand where this link will lead them. Also, including keywords in name of destination will not only increase your search engine ranking but also the ranking of the page you are linking to. Using descriptive links will improve SEO and also helps users to understand about the page they are heading to.


6-    Use alt tags

If you have video or visual media to add then you should describe them using alt tags or alternative text descriptions. This will allow search engines to locate your page easily.

7-    Content Marketing

When you create such interesting content for your site, the next thing you will need to do is market that content. You can use Social media Platforms to market your content which will not only increase your followers but also build a trust of users in your business. A good quality content will be loved by both the search engine and users. This will eventually aid you in increasing your ranking.

Factors that affect Rankings

1-    Backlinks

Google has given more importance to backlink for a past few years. Backlink helps the Google getting a clear view about your website and how good it is regarding to its quality and relevance. Backlinks which are high in quantities but with poor quality do not get the attention as quality and relevance is more important for the Google. To judge your links Google will most probably focus on these three aspects:
Ø  Variety of your backlinks.
Ø  The strength of pages linked
Ø  The number of links on your page
Following two things will help you to achieve the right kind of backlinks which are required for ranking high:
Ø  Produce the content that your audience wants
Ø  Promote your content consistently
One thing that you need to keep in mind is what can hurt your website’s SEO is having too many poor-quality backlinks.
Link score and relevant anchor text are the things that have huge impact on your backlink campaign. Link score shows the strength of your backlink, higher it is, the more powerful your backlink is. It is indicated on 0-100 scale. However, relevant anchor text shows the Google relevancy of your backlink.

2-    Content Length

If you are a small business owner and want your website to rank higher in search engine results, then you need to put in a little more effort to gain it. As you are planning to work yourself, most probably you are going to create the content yourself too. You can easily create short form content for your site but creating long form content may consume a lot of time, but from an SEO point of view, it is totally worth creating it. You can see that top-ranking websites having long form content perform better, as their audience find most of answers of their queries from it and it also engage them into reading and sharing with others.
There is a reason behind why Google focus on content length as your users can find all the answers and relevant information at one place. Users don’t have to wander from one place to another to find information they want. Again, long form content will only work if it is good enough and is not bloated with irrelevant stuff just to lengthen it or to increase the word count. You need to focus on the quality of content and it should be fully loaded with value that your users would want. Only in that case you can receive actual benefit from it.

3-    Attracting more links

As we know quality backlinks can help Google to assess the relevance and quality of your site. Longer articles can help you attract those quality backlinks from top relevant websites which are already reputable in Google’s eyes. Most likely these websites would like to associate with the content which is resourceful and serves its purpose rather than poor quality or shorter content with irrelevant stuff.

4-    Getting shares on other platforms

Quicksprout conducted a study which shows that longer contents attracted more shares on social media platforms as compare to shorter ones. According to that study articles with more than 1500 words got more visits and shares.

5-    Mobile First User Experience

Due to constantly changing nature of Google Algorithms, the Google ranking factors are also changing day by day. In past few years, Google has changed a lot in order to improve user experience. At this time, if you are trying to rank higher then you have to work on optimizing user experience as Google created RankBrain algorithm to de-rank the websites which do not offer great user experience.
If your website has only a desktop version then you might need to improve it and make it more useful by having mobile version of it as well. Nowadays, 85% of websites are mobile friendly. There are two main things to focus on in this section to make exceptional user experience.

a.    Page speed and mobile friendliness

In the case of mobile searches, page speed is the factor which can have a great impact. Loading time for mobile sites should take less than two seconds. Slow pages can cause users to leave that page and may never come back as they will be wasting their time, waiting for those pages to load.
Mobile versions of sites is not an option anymore, it is a necessity. As usage of mobile devices is constantly increasing, Google is trying to give the best user experience to audience. To make it happen, mobile friendly websites are given much preference.
You can use Google Search Console to make sure that mobile version of your website is doing well. Just keep in mind that mobile and desktop site are structured same. Make sure the mobile version of your website can be retrieved by the Googlebot by using text testing tool. Also, you can check your page speed through Page Speed Insights tool.

b. Click-through Rate

Click through rate is very important metric when it comes to measuring SEO success. CTR is simple to understand and you can get CTR when you divide the number of clicks you get on your website’s search result by the number of views. The result of this metric shows how well your site is performing in Search Engine Result Page or SERP. A lot of changes in Google Algorithms are kept private and are not exposed to public but this CTR is open to everyone. If your result shows higher CTR, then it means your search result is appealing enough to attract the attention of search users.
The reason why you need to optimize for a good click through rate is simple: the more people visit your site via Google search, the more chances you have to convert them into leads or sales. You can improve your CTR when you know where you can make adjustments to make it easy for your users to understand what they are going to see on your page. The reason behind why you should have good click through rate is pretty easy to understand, as higher number of people visit your site have higher chances to convert them into leads or sales, which is your priority.
You can increase your CTR by enhancing the two simple and significant areas:
1.       Title Tag
2.       Meta Description
Your title tag must be persuasive and relevant in nature to increase your CTR, as it is not only going to tell user about what benefit they will be achieving but also persuading them to give a click. After the title tag, meta description is the most important component as most people use that to read descriptions before clicking. That’s why it should be written in very appealing manner so that user do not go on without clicking it. It shows the smaller picture of your page as it tells user what they are about to see after clicking that.

6-    Technical Discrepancy:

The factors we discuss above are very important in ranking your website. If they are left unchecked and are not given proper attention can lower your rank in search engine. However, few other things to keep in mind to have more effective user experience for your website are encryption of HTTPS, H1 and H2 Headings, and Pop-up Ads.

7-    Encryption of HTTPS 

HTTPS secures the connection of a visitor to your website. You can see in your Address bar, if lock icon is closed then you have secured connection and if it is open then it is not secure. If you are planning to increase the chances of hitting first page of Google, use HTTPS encryption.
10- H1 and H2 Headings
These headings helps the search engines to see relevancy of the content and how well-organized and structured the content of page is. According to SearchMetrics, pages that use at least one heading tag tend to rank better.

    11- Pop-up Ads

 Pop-up ads are most annoying thing that can ever happen to user, especially when user’s interest is building in your website. When there are too many pop-up ads or that one pop-up ad which is taking so much time to be closed, users interest in your website starts to decrease. This means that the lesser time that user will spend on your website can negatively affect your site’s SEO. According to Google, pop-ups are only acceptable when they are necessary. So you should only use it when you want to show a login dialog for your website.

Conclusion

If you are a business owner, SEO is extremely important and without putting an SEO plan into practice, you can easily miss out on large opportunities to maximize your business potential. However, if you cannot set aside a budget for an SEO team because you are a startup (or for some other reason), you can use a number of techniques to get the same level of results such as using the Google Keyword planner tool and Ubersuggest tool.  To get good rankings, you might need to take into account a few factors such as backlinks and content length. All in all, doing SEO by yourself is very doable and can help you get enough rankings to keep you in the game without losing a good flow of traffic on your business websites.

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